After reading all those answers, you should have stumbled across the STAR method. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result, and it is used to answer behavioral interview questions. Interviewers are moving more toward open-ended behavioral questions like "Tell me a time you failed?" or Describe a time when you worked in a team?" The goals of these questions, as you might have surmised, is to find out how you will interact with your future co-workers and how you deal with stressful situations. The STAR method is popular because it gets at the heart of what communication experts believe connects people and really gets them to listen: stories. When you answer a question about a time when you took on a leadership role, the interviewer will respond better if you tell a story.

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Stories are more effective than traditional answers because they are:

Easy to follow
Add personality and authenticity
Are easier to remember
Build empathy and human connection

Unfortunately, only good stories have that effective. Poorly told stories can make an interviewer's eyes roll faster than you asking how many vacation days you would get. Therefore, we suggest mastering the SAR method. SAR stands for Situation, Action, Results. You can read more about the SAR method at the Washington Post and but in a nutshell, the SAR method provides a framework for you to tell your stories.

Situation: What was the conflict? Who was involved?
Action: What action did you take to resolve the conflict?
Results: What was the outcome? What did you learn?

Now that you know what employers are really trying to find out from the most common interview questions. Use the SAR method to prepare an answer for all 10 questions. This can be a list bullet points or paragraphs. Whatever works best for you. Refer back your mind map/ spreadsheet as your cheat sheet. Remember you're trying to convince the interviewer that you can add value to their company and that you will make a great fit!